Pluto's Status: The Reasons Why Pluto is not a Planet

This assignment delves into the reasons why Pluto is classified as a dwarf planet rather than a planet. It discusses Pluto's size, which is significantly smaller than Mercury, and its composition, highlighting the presence of ice. The assignment also touches upon the discovery of the Kuiper Belt and how it changed our understanding of the outer solar system. The author argues that Pluto's classification as a dwarf planet is justified because it is part of a larger group of icy bodies in the Kuiper Belt and that the initial classification of Pluto as a planet was a historical accident. The assignment references scientific literature to support its claims, focusing on the scientific criteria used to define planets and dwarf planets.

Pluto has been given the status of the largest object in the outer solar system. Pluto was kept to a
newly invented category, "dwarf planet," in 2006, it is known so because of a newly discovery of
Eris, it is another icy body from Pluto neighborhood. Many of the scientists give their views
whether Pluto should be treated as a planet or not. But according to me, it should not be
characterized as a planet because of various reasons. Firstly, it was considered that Pluto, Eris
and Kuiper belt objects are too far different with the eight official planets. Second thing, Pluto is
much smaller. Pluto is about 1,455 miles (2,342) wide.it is much smaller than mercury which is
3,032 miles (4,880km) across. Thirdly, they are made of another different stuff, with ices
comprising more of their mass. Fourthly, The most important reason Pluto ever deemed a planet,
because firstly it was detected so long ago before persons feel that it was just a vast flotilla of
objects beyond Neptune's orbit. The Kuiper belt which is the combination of more than 1000 icy
bodies, was not discovered until 1992. Now it was considered as a funny historical accident that
we found Pluto so early. We also say that astronomers have a much better sense whether it
should be considered as a planet or not. A decade ago Hayden staff redesigned planetarium. But
basically Pluto has their family in the outer solar system. So by considering all these things Pluto
should not be characterized as a planet.

REFERENCE
Marshall, C. (2015). Explained in 60 Seconds: Why is Pluto not a Planet?.Communicating
Astronomy with the Public Journal, 18, 4.